One of the little girls in my life: my niece!
Loved this quote in either the February or March issue of O the Oprah Magazine:
In bathrooms, boardrooms, buses, bagel shops, and everywhere else, we all need to imagine a little girl following us around, repeating everything we say and everything we do. Think about all the things you want for yourself and your daughters, granddaughters, and girls everywhere- and teach them by living it yourself.
Nell Merlino from Stepping Out of Line: Lessons for Women Who Want It Their Way in Life, in Love, and at Work
It’s such a simple way to think about being our best selves, giving ourselves permission to be our best selves. We work so hard to give to others in our lives and yet we all know that actions speak louder than words. What if we gave ourselves permission to be our best selves– because we know it is good for us, because it allows us to be good to others, and because it sets the right example? The irony here is that we often say no to ourselves because we want to say yes to others. The reality is that by saying yes to ourselves what we are able to give to others– even if its quantitatively less as we may not have as much time because we’re working on our own self care– is qualitatively better.
So my goal for today and this week: beginning to lead by example with good self care actions– remembering the little ones who watch me– and, thus, give others and myself the gift of my best self.
